Autodesk Teams With IZOD IndyCar to Innovate the Racing World

A business deal has been made to form an unexpected partnership of two giants in their respective fields. Autodesk, one of the leading developers and sellers of CAD software, is teaming up with the fast-action, highly prestigious IZOD IndyCar Series in a three-year deal meant to expose and familiarize all of the IndyCar race teams with the entire Autodesk collection of software.

IndyCar has used Autodeskís AutoCAD software to design garage layouts for strategic unloading and loading at different venues around the world. But IndyCarís engineers have never used AutoCAD near its full potential. From a closer look, these two companies may actually make a fine duo. IndyCar plans to use AutoCAD for its versatility and huge array of tools in order to allow IndyCar teams to create faster, safer, and more innovative cars.

IndyCar's engineering and operations group will use Autodesk Digital Prototyping applications to design and engineer product innovations for chassis designs, parts, and components. (Source: Autodesk)

AutoCAD is already used by the racing organization to plan and draw layouts for sled crash tests used to make IndyCar open-wheel racing safer. The Autodesk Product Design Suite will be perfect for prototyping and simulating different chassis designs. It will also allow them to experiment with different layouts for the racecarís systems in order to improve aerodynamics. The software comes with tools designed to work with different materials like sheet metal and plastics. Welds, structural framework and harnesses, and cables are easily incorporated into designs, as well. IndyCar says it plans to implement any innovation created from the software into all cars, as standards, to produce faster but fair and safe racing.

Autodesk Simulation 360 puts the designed parts through many extensive simulations. These include applications involving cyclical loading and vibrations, as well as static or dynamic loading. Autodeskís Computational Fluid Dynamics can simulate the movement of heat, liquids, and gases to see how they interact with surrounding mechanisms and components. They can also study pressure rises or drops associated with different flows through pipes or over surfaces, or how HVAC can be used to help drivers. Simulation 360 can test these hypothetical, virtual components before they are manufactured and implemented.

Using Autodesk, IndyCar will be able to cut costs in virtual prototyping and cut down the time required to manufacture parts. IndyCar teams are always moving fast to different venues all over the world. Any teamís simulation or design, completed or still in development, can now be stored and managed on the cloud using Autodesk PML 360 accounts. Autodesk PLM (product lifecycle management) allows access for editing, sharing, and collaborating from anywhere through the web. This service is customizable but includes an intuitive browser, so anyone familiar with browsing the Internet can manage.

As part of the contract, Autodesk will give IndyCar engineers and operations groups all of the mentioned software, as well as the Autodesk Inventor 3D CAD software, so each team could even use the Entertainment Creation software to produce animations to promote themselves and their gear.

The racecar series has always relied on cutting-edge technology to innovate and improve performance to grow in popularity. They introduced the rearview mirror at the first Indy 500 in 1911. On the other hand, Autodesk has spent nearly 30 years developing CAD software that has been widely adopted by the manufacturing and automotive industries. Both companies have as much experience with their respective technologies as any competitors, and this partnership plans to bring their products and services to wider audiences in the short- and long-term.

Perhaps next we can expect computer geeks to become best friends with car buffs? Maybe not, but it will not be too long before more sports realize physics and computer-aided design may be more important than they thought.

However the Indy car scene developed cars or tested in the past probably required quite a bit of hands on work. With switching to simulations, I worry that there will be too much reliance on the software over time. People will pass the buck, so to speak, on responsibility after that.

I have seen that be the case even with electrical circuit simulation. They blamed the simulator for an error in design.

However the Indy car scene developed cars or tested in the past probably required quite a bit of hands on work. With switching to simulations, I worry that there will be too much reliance on the software over time. People will pass the buck, so to speak, on responsibility after that.

I have seen that be the case even with electrical circuit simulation. They blamed the simulator for an error in design.

Cabe--I had no idea Autodesk had CFD as one element. I had better go back and take another look at this package. My experience with AutoCAD is very basic and reduces to mere drafting. I think your last statement says it all when you mention companies designing equipment and machinery for sporting events had better consider the "physics" and engineering aspects of design when producing a product AND CAD can be the basic tool for that endeavor.

CAD software is deflintely not new to IndyCar. Andretti Autosport (IndyCar team owned by Michael Andretti) has been using Siemens PLM CAD software for nearly 10 years. Our use of Siemens PLM solutions actually goes back nearly 20 years to the earliest evolution of our team which began in the mid-90's via Team Green/Andretti Green Racing/Andretti Autosport and the early evolution of Siemens PLM Software via SDRC/EDS/UGS/Siemens PLM. Proud to say our use of Siemens PLM NX and Teamcenter solutions has helped us win 4 IndyCar Series Championships (2004, 2005, 2007 and 2012), along with 2 Indy 500 wins (2005 and 2007).

I am sure they use CAD to design parts. But Autodesk is a complete package for CAD and simulation. I never would have recommended all-in-one packages in the past, but this setup does look useful. The only down side to Autodesk's suite is their 3D drawing package. From my experience, they have a long way to go to catch up to Solidwork's ease.

Cabe, is it really the case that Indy cars do not take advantage of CAD software? I find this interesting, since many years ago (over 20), when purchasing a large computer system for the engineering department of an aerospace plant we ran into CAD and CAE use by Formula 1. This was the example that many of the computer vendors were using then. I guess that Indy cars are a bit less sophiscated (and much less expensive) than Formula 1 cars, but I would have thought there was much more CAD and CAE going on.

Virtual Reality (VR) headsets are getting ready to explode onto the market and it appears all the heavy tech companies are trying to out-develop one another with better features than their competition. Fledgling start-up Vrvana has joined the fray.

A Tokyo company, Miraisens Inc., has unveiled a device that allows users to move virtual 3D objects around and "feel" them via a vibration sensor. The device has many applications within the gaming, medical, and 3D-printing industries.

While every company might have their own solution for PLM, Aras Innovator 10 intends to make PLM easier for all company sizes through its customization. The program is also not resource intensive, which allows it to be appropriated for any use. Some have even linked it to the Raspberry Pi.

solidThinking updated its Inspire program with a multitude of features to expedite the conception and prototype process. The latest version lets users blend design with engineering and manufacturing constraints to produce the cheapest, most efficient design before production.

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